Frank McDonough

Frank McDonough was born in Boston, Massachusetts in January 1940. His family history in the military extends back about 100 years, dating to World War I. He had two uncles who served in that war. One uncle was severely wounded in Europe, and the other uncle was discharged due to a hearing impairment. McDonough had several aunts and uncles who served in World War II, either in the Army or Navy. McDonough also has two sons with military experience. One is a retired Marine and the other had been serving in his 35th year with the United States Navy. Two of McDonough’s grandsons were also Marines.

McDonough essentially had no choice when it came to joining the military, due to his struggles of getting into a “decent college”, as he stated. He enrolled at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. McDonough soon found himself in an Aviation Aeronautics program. He then discovered while taking the Air program that he was color blind. McDonough was deemed unsuitable for the Aviation program since color perception was important. A classmate had suggested that he go and see a military recruiter in South Weymouth, Massachusetts. McDonough agreed and went to speak with the recruiter. Recounting the interaction, he stated, “I walked in, and there was this great big Gunnery Sergeant sitting behind the desk. He had ribbons from here to here, and he had hash marks from his hand to elbow. And he looked at me and said, “You’ll never make it, so forget it and get out of here.” McDonough replied to the sergeant, “Where do I sign?” The recruiter’s blunt rejection of McDonough inspired him to enlist and to prove doubters wrong.

McDonough started in the Reserves in October of 1957 and served at South Weymouth for a couple of months. He was shipped out to South Korea and sat on a ship in Inchon Harbor for 54 days. McDonough went to boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, which he actually liked and was an honor graduate. He believed that the year 1957 was a rather calm period for the United States. McDonough explained that the extraction of American soldiers from the Korean War brought a sense of relief to Americans. The U.S. President at the time, Dwight D. Eisenhower, also conveyed the same sense of serenity and did not wish to make any incursions anywhere. McDonough stated about his reason to join the military, “I joined because I needed a place to go and some discipline in my life and a sense of responsibility.”

McDonough then went for a month to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for Infantry training. There, future soldiers were taught how to use and manage their equipment. Following this, McDonough was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois for Electronics School for 26 weeks. He initially struggled at Electronics School, because he did not want to be there, plus he was a poor student. However, McDonough improved his math skills needed with the help of a Navy Chief and ended up graduating second in the class. He was then ordered to Radar School in San Diego, California, where radar machine repair was taught. Interestingly, McDonough rarely saw a radar and never actually repaired one in the military. 

He was then sent back to Camp Lejeune, which he heavily disliked due to the camp’s poor conditions. Fortunately, McDonough was put in an Electronics Maintenance unit. The unit’s First Sergeant was being reassigned to Okinawa, Japan, and he had a fondness for McDonough. Due to McDonough’s hatred for being at Camp Lejeune, he decided to approach the Sergeant one day and explain his situation. McDonough threatened to leave the Marine Corps when his enlistment period was up, if he could not leave the camp. The Sergeant allowed McDonough to leave Camp Lejeune and to accompany him across the Pacific.

McDonough and the Sergeant boarded the same ship but were assigned to different units. McDonough went to Pearl Harbor Hawaii, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands, Hong Kong China, and was with the first Americans since World War II to land in Borneo. He was grateful to be away from Camp Lejeune. However, he was grateful for having met his future wife there. She was a Marine too and they married in 1960. In San Francisco California, McDonough worked hard and signed up for another four years in the USMC.

McDonough was assigned to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in Okinawa. He stayed with Recon units for most of his remaining military career. McDonough also tried many times to get into Army Airborne School or Jump School. He was finally accepted into the program and received airborne training in Hawaii. McDonough made over seven hundred total jumps in the military. He remembered jumping out of planes as being the most enjoyable part of his military career. 

McDonough stated that he was eager for a change of scenery and wanted to go to Vietnam. He wanted to be where the action was and be in Vietnam. After consulting with a personnel officer, McDonough was granted his request and was flown to Da Nang in South Vietnam. He was sent to the 1st Battalion, 13th Marine Regiment to relieve a communications officer. McDonough was part of a group that was responsible for providing communication for artillery batteries to the Khe Sanh Combat Base. He had gone to Vietnam in short spurts all around different places assessing what needed to be fixed with the electronics.

Khe Sanh was a U.S. Marine Corps outpost in Vietnam. McDonough was there for a total of seventy-seven days for the Siege of Khe Sanh and saw many casualties, noting that his outpost was hit with as many as 1,300 rockets per day by the Vietcong. “The primary units stationed at KSCB were the 26th Marine Regiment, an ARVN battalion, and several small army, air force and navy support units, including 1st Medical Battalion, all of which totaled some 6,000 combatants inside the wire and on the surrounding hills. I was with the 1st Battalion, 13th Marines, the artillery battalion stationed at KSCB and on its outlying hills. I served as the Battalion Communications Officer and, for a short period as the Acting Battery Commander for Headquarters Battery until my Battery Headquarters suffered a direct hit which wiped out my entire staff. The Battalion S-4 then took over the Unit Diary and I went back to my Comm Bunker. I arrived at SCB the day the siege started and left on the first of April.”

McDonough bluntly described a typical day at Khe Sanh Base as “dodging and ducking”, in reference to enemy rocket artillery shells. He was only able to get three hours of sleep every other night. McDonough lost forty pounds while at Khe Sanh due to their Mess Hall was blown up, so they only had soup and C-Rations for nourishment. His sergeant protected him from shrapnel after a rocket exploded. McDonough carried him out and he survived. McDonough wrapped gauze and his belt around the sergeant’s head to stop the bleeding. He said it was frustrating taking on fire and to not being able to fire back. Men tried to do reconnaissance and were ambushed and killed, and they knew they were surrounded. 

Aside from having to be mindful of when to save and eat his food, McDonough was content with the living conditions. Nobody starved and there was plenty of clean water. The showers always had warm running water due to the outside temperature, and doctors were on staff to treat soldiers. McDonough even received care packages from friends. Morale was very good. Everyone had a good sense of humor. But they always had to stay alert as the enemy could come over the wire, so they slept with their gear on. He got used to hearing the pop of artillery pieces and jumping in a hole.